Music

12 Hit Albums With Deep Roots in Tech

Albums Inspired by Technology

1. OK Computer by Radiohead

Radiohead, the wounded kings of alt-rock, have always been keen on slipping technological references into their music. Their third and most celebrated album, 1997's OK Computer, is the best example. Though not a concept album, it weaved in electronic themes and had track titles such as "Paranoid Android."

Enhancing the nerd factor is the theory that OK Computer and the band's 2007 release In Rainbows are meant to complement each other. They were released 10 years apart, there are ten letters in each title and each has ten tracks, among other clues that emphasize binary theory.

2. The Electric Lady by Janelle Monae

Janelle Monae's third album, R&B fusion The Electric Lady, has an underlying theme of robot culture. It's part of her Metropolis (inspired by the futuristic film of the same name) concept album series, about a rebellious, time-traveling android named Cindi Mayweather.

7. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by the Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are the loopy leaders of psychedelic rock, breaking into the mainstream in 2002 with their 10th album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Like the title suggests, the album loosely narrates the tale of protagonist Yoshimi, a Japanese girl fighting a bunch of rosy robots.

Image: The Flaming Lips

4. Random Access Memories by Daft Punk

Daft Punk's whole shtick is to act like robots. Random Access Memories, the 2013 breakout album from the legendary electronic duo (composed of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo), is thematically tied to tech, starting off with its title.

"We were drawing a parallel between the brain and the hard drive -- the random way that memories are stored," Bangaltersaid in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Image: Daft Punk

5. Biophilia by Björk

Iceland's reigning queen of avant-garde pop and techno, Björk's Biophilia is thematically inspired more so by science and nature, but everything about its production and release was tied to groundbreaking tech.

The album came with 10 interactive apps (one for each song), which allowed users to remix songs and explore a plethora of individual videos. She also crafted some of the album's songs using a tablet.

Image: Bjork

6. 808's and Heartbreak by Kanye West

Like Biophilia, Kanye West's melancholy pop record from 2008 wasn't strictly about technology, but its background is saturated with it.

The rapper was heavily inspired by Auto-Tune, an audio processor used in the music industry to alter vocals, and the Roland TR-808 drum machine.

Image: Kanye West

3. The Future's Void by EMA

Indie distortion artist EMA tapped into the dark side of the connected generation for her sophomore effort, 2014's The Future's Void. The sci-fi-inspired album ruminates and grumbles about "technology and commodification of images," she said in an interview with Rolling Stone.

8. The Age of Plastic by the Buggles

In 1980, the idea of an interconnected world with hyper-smart technology terrified pop act the Buggles.

Laced with paranoia about the future and nostalgia for a simpler time, the album is home to the classic track "Video Killed the Radio Star."

Image: The Buggles

9. Sea of Cowards by the Dead Weather

Hey Internet trolls -- this album is aimed at you.

The Dead Weather is a rock supergroup comprised of Jack White (the White Stripes), Alison Mosshart (the Kills), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (the Greenhornes). In 2010, they released sophomore album Sea of Cowards, an angry, rattling blues soundscape that took shots at anonymous Internet users who use the web to spew vitriol.

Image: The Dead Weather

10. Signals by Rush

The forefathers of prog-rock kept their '80s hot streak alive and well with 1982's Signals. Heavily experimental, the band used synthesizers and had titles such as "The Analog Kid" and "Digital Man." The track "Countdown" was even inspired by NASA's launch of Space Shuttle Columbia.

Image: Rush

11. MAYA by M.I.A.

Controversial hip-hop star M.I.A. has always been one to stir the pot. Her 2010 album MAYA opened with a song called "The Message," with the chanted lyrics: "Connected to the Google/Connected to the government."

The album was all about the uber-connected Internet age, with tracks about censorship, Twitter, iPhones and data collection.

Image: M.I.A.

12. Computer World by Kraftwerk

The most straightforward album title of all: German electronic group Kraftwerk penned the entirety of 1981's Computer World about new technology and the rise of computers. What else would you expect from an album with cuts including "Computer Love," "Pocket Calculator" and "It's More Fun to Compute"?

Image: Kraftwerk

Music and technology go hand-in-hand. Many artists are so intrigued by the connected world that they craft entire albums of tech-themed tracks.

From Neo-Luddite musings about the Internet to gung-ho reception of robots and androids, various musicians tie their album concepts to a fascination with the digital age..

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